Survivor: Men Make Misty's Day
Self-described "tomboy in heels" Misty Giles is no stranger to competition. In fact, her string of victories could be intimidating – a Miss Texas Teen USA who at 24, is already an engineer and motivational speaker who enjoys political arguments and kickboxing, and is training for a marathon.
Make that too intimidating.
Misty's intelligence was cited as one big reason for her ouster from "Survivor: Panama — Exile Island" as the male-dominated La Mina Tribe, in Episode 3, voted 5-2 to make her the third castaway kicked out of the game.
A lackluster performance in an Immunity Challenge – digging bags out of the sand - also helped seal Misty's fate. Bidding the longed-for prize money a fond farewell, the Dallas resident said she was blindsided by the vote which "definitely was a shock to me. I didn't see it coming, for sure."
But at least now she can talk about it, which she'll do, in a Friday morning appearance on CBS' The Early Show.
In the Tribal Council, as members of La Mina discussed who to expel, the choice quickly narrowed to either Misty or Ruth Marie, 48, a South Carolina shopping center developer with a lot in common with Misty, as a marathon runner, mentor of young girls, and the winner of numerous beauty pageants.
Terry - a 46-year-old American Airlines pilot and former Navy fighter pilot from Connecticut who made his mark as an athlete back in his school days - was adamant that Misty should go. "She's an engineer," he argued, "She's smart as hell, and she could cause some trouble." Sally – a 27-year-old social worker, waitress and bartender from Chicago - meanwhile lobbied Nick - a 25-year-old salesman and aspiring attorney from Arizona - and Austin – a 24-year-old novelist and author from North Carolina - to give Ruth Marie the ax.
To Austin, it felt like a good position to be in. "I have the makings right now to get all the way to where I want to be in this game," he said, "because of the way that I am aligned."
In the end, Sally's plea fell on deaf ears, and the solidity of the male alliance proved to be concrete.
While the La Mina tribe got the final spotlight in Episode 3, the Casaya tribe caught the unforgettable moment, with a gimmick most of us will probably never be tempted to try.
Bruce - a 58-year-old black belt karate teacher from California – stepped in as Casaya's replacement for Melinda Hyder, who was booted out of the game on Episode 2.
Bruce's skills came in handy in a hurry as thirsty Casayans, with no fire to boil their unpotable water, turned to him for a solution. And he had one. A former backpacking and survival instructor, Bruce set up a makeshift system of layered T-shirts to filter the contaminated water.
Not everyone was convinced.
"I've also worked in wilderness," said a skeptical fellow Casayan, Courtney, a 31-year-old performance artist, fire dancer and globe-trotting adventurer. "I'm shocked and awed that this method actually gets bacteria out of the water."
Hopefully, it does.
Stay tuned for Episode 4.